Florence, South Carolina
The only city in the United States to have been bombed using an atomic device!

11 March 1958  Accounts of this widely reported accident describe the atomic bomb falling in garden of the home of Mr. Walter Gregg in Mars Bluff (Florence) S.C. The high explosive detonation (the "atomic part" did not detonate) virtually destroyed his house creating a crater 50-70 feet in diameter and 25-30 feet deep. It caused injuries to Mr. Gregg and five members of his family, and additionally damaged five other houses and a church. The clean-up effort required several days. Air Force personnel recovered hundreds of pieces of bomb fragments that were carried off as souvenirs by local residents. The inhabitants of Mars Bluff were examined for several months to see if they had been exposed to any radiation. Five months later the Gregg family was awarded $54,000 from the Air Force. After this accident Air Force crews were ordered to "lock in" nuclear bombs. This reduced the possibility of accidental drops but increased the hazards if the plane crashed.

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(courtesy Morning News)

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